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God's Doings for the Nation. 



A SERMON 



PREACHED IN THE 



^mt §m%ikxi 



GREENWICH, NEW JERSEY, 



OS THE DAT OF 



NATIONAL THANKSGIVING, 

November 24th, 1864, 

-^ / 

By Rev. J. K. PLITT, A. M., 

Pastor of St. James' Evangelical Lutheran Church, Greenwich, N. J. 



E ASTON, PA.: 
PRINTED BY L. aORDON 

1864. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 

Greenwich, Nov. 25th, 1SC4. 

Rev. John K. Plitt, 

Reverend and Dear Sir : 
The congregation of St. James, Lutheran, and of the first Presbyterian 
Churches of Greenwich, who united to observe the National Tlianksgiv- 
ing, heard with great pleasure and profit, your able sermon on that occa- 
sion. Believing that its dissemination in a printed form will do good, the 
undersigned, representing those congregations, respectfully ask for a copy 
of it for publication. 

Yours truly, 

J. H. HAMLEN, 
JOHN CARTER, 
ISAAC S. CARPENTER, 
H. H. ABERNETHY, 
ISAAC SHIPMAN, 
S. LEIDY SHIMER. 



REPLY. 

Greenwich, Nov. 29th, 1SG4. 

Dear Brethren : — You estimate much more highly than is deserved 
the unpretending sermon to which your note refers. Deferring, however, 
to your judgment that its publication may serve a useful purpose, I here- 
with place a copy of it at your disposal. 

Yours truly, 

J. K. PLITT. 
To Messrs. J. H. Hamlen, 
John Carter, 
Isaac S. Carpenter, 
H. H. Abernethy, 
Isaac Shipman, 
S. Leidy Shijier. 



SERMON. 



'' The Lord uatii bone great things for rs ; whereof we are gi.ad." — 
Psalm 120 : 3. 

"War still prevails in the land. Tlirough anotLcr year 
it has pressed with heavy weight upon us. The fond 
hope, that ere this its insatiate appetite could have been 
filled, has not yet been realized. Our watching and wait- 
ing have not yet greeted the dawn of returning Peace. 
The year has been marked by a full measure of those deso- 
lating scenes which follow in the track of War. Fearful 
conflicts of arms have taken place. Many a bloody field 
has been made historic. Many a noble victim has fallen. 
Many a heart has been made sad. Many a home has been 
darkened. And "the end is not yet." Opposing hosts 
still confront each other in deadly array. Eebellion still 
lifts up its head and wears a defiant look ; and with a no 
less firm and settled purpose, the Nation still goes forth 
to meet it, determined by<jrod's help to save its own life, 
to vindicate its just authority, to enforce its laws, and to 
crush the hideous monster. 

Our annual Thanksgiving comes in the midst of war. 
For the fourth time to-day is it thus. In former years we 
could celebrate the blessings of Peace, along with other 
good things of God's giving ; but in these last years, we 
have had our joyous festival marred by war's stern reali- 
ties. Still there is occasion for thanksgiving. Days of 
humiliation may seem more fitting ; the call for clothing 
ourselves in sackcloth and ashes may be loud and fre- 
quent; the most hopeful posture of the Nation may be 
that of the bowed suppliant crying to Heaven for mercy. 
But still there is a place for thanksgiving. From the 



6 

wreck of our national peace and prosperitj^ many a pre- 
cious treasure has been saved to us. Amid all the desola- 
tions of war, much has been spared to us that should 
attune our hearts and lips to praise. And for much that 
more immediately pertains to the war itself, — to the fea- 
tures which it this day presents, and to the hopes which it 
now inspires, — we have abundant reason to be thankful to 
God, and to bless his holy Name. 

"The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we 
are glad." So the Church of old uttered her voice in cele- 
brating the mercies of God to her. We may take her 
words, and make them our own to-day, as we seek to 
recount the blessings that now call for thanksgiving — as 
we speak of God's doings for the Nation. It is not 
wresting them to an unholy purpose, to use them as a 
guide in our solemn service, though we are called now to 
speak less of that which is spiritual, and more of that which 
is earthly and temporal. 

"What has God done for us ? Wherefore should we be 
glad? 

I. As a first thing to he noticed, He has jyreserved to us our 
National life. With this thought the Proclamation of the 
President, in response to which we have now assembled in 
the sanctuary, opens : and it is worthy of our joyous and 
thankful consideration. The national life has been in 
peril. A giant conspiracy has been formed against it, and 
has long been seeking its destruction. Terrible and repeated 
blows have been struck at it. The assassin's dagger has 
been thrust at the very heart of the Nation. Success in 
the wicked schemes, to which our foes have embarked, 
would involve the utter overthrow of our nationality, and 
would substitute for it, many sovereign and independent 
nations. State governments would take precedence of the 
general government. That which is least would be exalted 
above that which is greatest. And all that distinguishes 
us as a Nation, all that serves to give us a place among the 



family of nations, and all that commands for us the respect 
of the great powers of the earth, would pass from us. Our 
unity would be gone : therein lies the great secret of our 
power and influence as a Nation ; as applicable to the re- 
lation of our States to each other, there is a peculiar sig- 
nificance in the utterance, "in union there is strength." 
Broken up into fragments, we would become a by-word 
and a hissing among the nations; and all that would 
remain to us would be but the wreck of departed great- 
ness. 

No doubt one of the strongest reasons why the so-called 
Southern Confederacy has been for years vainly begging 
for recognition abroad is the fact, that it is so loosely 
bound together, lacks cohesiveness, and contains in its very 
structure the elements of speedy dissolution. The States 
may go out with as much ease as they came in. For any 
real or fancied grievance, one after another may desert the 
rest until nothing remains. All this is expressly provided 
for in the bond. A sovereign State cannot be coerced. 
When she chooses to move, regardless of the interests of 
her sister States, there is no power that can restrain or 
control her. What kind of a government is that? Is it 
any wonder that such an applicant for recognition should 
receive the cold shoulder at every European court ? Could 
any great Power so stultify itself, as to acknowledge so 
loose and irresponsible a thing as a nation, a government ? 
Now such a condition of things would the success of our 
foes involve for the whole land. The attempt to overthrow 
the National Government is, beyond controversy, a blow 
aimed at the very life of the nation. The Constitution of 
the country, with the Government for which it provides, 
and with the laws which are ordained under it, is what 
makes us a nation. The individual States, in their sepa- 
rate capacities, are not nations. Exalt them to a place, 
which nullifies the supreme authority of the General Gov- 
ernment, and you do that which of necessity must prove 
fatal to our nationality. One country of many States — one 



general government of supreme power, with that of the 
individual States subordinate to it, and in harmony with 
it — this is what gives us a name, and a place, and a cha- 
racter among the nations of the earth. And this is just 
what the Eebellion has proposed, and is seeking, to undo. 
Because a set of designing, ambitious men, could not have 
every thing their way, and saw the sceptre of power de- 
parting out of their hands, they have conspired to destroy 
the Government which they could no longer control. 
They have found many to sympathize with, and to help 
them, in the unholy work. They have pressed on in their 
wicked endeavors with a persistent ardor. They have 
achieved successes which, betimes, have filled loyal hearts 
with fear that they might possibly compass their desperate 
ends. But the nation still lives. God has preserved it. To 
Ilim let our thanks be given that it has survived the 
shocks and convulsions of nearly four years ; that it has 
showm a tenacity of life, of which the base conspirators 
were wholly unsuspecting; and that it gives this day, 
bright and cheering promise of rising proudly above all 
that its foes can do to destroy it. It is too young to die. 
God evidentljdias a great mission for it to yet fulfill. The 
cause of civil liberty and of popular government, through- 
out the world, is too closely identified with it to allow of 
its perishing now. The sun of hope for many an enthralled 
people would go down with our fall, never to rise again. 
Despots and tyrants would then hold high carnival. And 
one of the holiest causes of humanity would go weeping 
and sorrowing through the world. If wicked foes at home 
and abroad have been ready for this, God's time for it 
manifestly has not yet come. His guardian eye has 
watched over the Nation, through all her gigantic strug- 
gles; His omnipotent arm has defended her; His mercy 
has been great to her. She still lives. Let us thank God 
for it. 

Foes we have of our own household ; and this is one of 
the saddest features of our troubles. But these are not our 



only enemies. From beyond the seas many an eye lias 
long been looking with envy and jealousy upon our rapid 
progress in the way of national greatness: and many a 
heart would be made to overflow with gladness, in the 
dowfall of the great Kepublic. Propositions, from one to 
another earthly potentate, for intervention in our affairs, 
have not been wanting. Cabinets have frequently discussed 
the question. Eloquent tongues, from more than one class 
of people, have pleaded for it. And rebel emissaries, with 
their more immediate sympathizers, have exhausted their 
resources of wisdom, skill, and power to have it prevail. 
But it has all been to no purpose. God has brought to 
nought the counsels of those who had it in their hearts to 
interpose : He has preserved us from that intervention by 
foes abroad, on behalf of our foes at home, which would 
but have served to give greater intensity to our struggle, 
which would have spread more widely the desolations of 
the war, and which would have rendered more difficult the 
formidable work of conquering the rebellion ; and He has 
thus far disappointed all those hopes of foreign enemies 
which wait for their fulfillment in the overthrow of our 
glorious system of government. In spite of foes, at home 
and abroad, loe still have a county — the nation still lives. To 
God's name let all the praise be given ! 

And not only have we thus been preserved by our 
Heavenly Father ; not only have our national life and our 
country been saved to us, but amid all the desolations of 
war many of those blessings which we were accustomed to 
recount, in former and more peaceful days, have been 
poured out upon us with a bountiful hand, during the past 
year. The earth has still yielded her increase. To indus- 
trious labor a generous reward has been returned. "Unu- 
sual health has been enjoyed by the people in their homes, 
and by our armies in the field." We have been spared the 
visitation of those fearful epidemics which, in former years, 
have swept like a besom of destruction over the land. "Our 
free population has been largely increased by immigration 



10 

from abroad and by emancipation." And our religious 
privileges — our greatest earthly boon, our most precious 
treasure — have not been taken away from us. So that 
along with our national life preserved to us, we have en- 
joyed, in large measure, those gifts of Providence and of 
grace, without which the continuance of both our national 
and our individual life would be but a prolongation of 
hopelessness and misery. Surely, for all these things we 
ought to be devoutly gra/teful to God. 

II. God has brought us safely through the exciting scenes 
connected with a Presidential Campaign. — This is a matter 
by no means unworthy of our special and thankful con- 
sideration to-day. In ordinary times, such a campaign 
tests the national character and strength to a greater or 
less degree, according to the issues involved ; but in a time 
of war, the strain is so great as justly to awaken the fears of 
patriotic hearts, that some part of the structure might give 
way, or ev^ that the whole might be involved in ruin. 
The country has never before had such a trial as that to 
which it has recently been subjected. In former cam- 
paigns, important issues have been submitted to the popu- 
lar judgment and will. But never before have the people 
been called to act in the important matter of choosing their 
chief rulers in a time of gigantic war, and with such 
tremendous interests before them as have recently been 
presented for their decision. And the fact that we have 
passed safely through this momentous trial, proclaims that 
there is a strength in our national system, a vigor in our 
national life, fully equal to the hopes of many, and far 
greater than the fears of some — a strength which may well 
appal the envious nations, make monarcbs tremble for their 
crowns, and despots for their thrones — and for which many 
peoples of the earth, who are sighing for civil liberty, will 
thank God and take courage. We know now, better than 
ever, that there is a power in our republican form of govern- 
ment, which cannot easily be broken. When the people in 



11 

the majesty of their might arise, they sweep forth Avitli a 
resistless energy ; when they utter their voice, it is like the 
voice of many thunders ; and with God to defend and to 
help them, they become the multitude of an host, against 
which their foes oppose themselves in vain. 

Thoughtful observers have watched the progress of the 
recent political campaign, with no ordinary interest. They 
have marked the warmth and the energy with which it has 
been conducted. They have seen how eagerly each of the 
parties engaged has striven for success. They have wit- 
nessed the height to which the tide of popular excitement 
has risen. And they have not been without grave appre- 
hensions, that the day of the nation's choice of its rulers 
might be a day of rioting, burning, and bloodshedding. 
Threats of excited partisans were not wanting, Assassina- 
tions were intimated. Organized conspiracies seem clearly 
to have existed. Eaids from the border, in the interest of 
our foes, seem clearly to have been menaced. However 
much of these things must be ascribed to party zeal — 
however much they may have been magnified on the one 
hand, and underrated on the other, for merely partisan pur- 
poses — there certainly was much in them to awaken pain- 
ful anxiety in many minds. Men knew not whereunto 
they might grow. But lo ! when the great day of decision 
comes, the fury of the lion is changed into the mild temper 
of the lamb. Calmly and quietly the people speak through 
their ballots. The polls are undisturbed. The machinery 
which served well in times of peace, serves equally well in 
a time of war. The riotous spirit is restrained. The ordi- 
nary excitement even of election day appears to be almost 
wanting — not that the people were indifferent to the great 
issues at stake, but that they went more soberly and more 
thoughtfully than ever to the polls, realizing the solemnity 
of the duty imposed upon them. The preceding agitation 
seems to have afforded vent for all superfluous passion. 
The storm is succeeded by a calm, in which all seem to 
breathe more freely. No cities are laid in ashes ; no blood 



12 

is spilled ; no life is sacrificed. From Elaine to California 
the almost unvarying report comes, that the last election 
was one of the most quiet and peaceful that has ever been 
held in the country. 

So remarkable is all this, that even the most casual ob- 
server can hardly have failed to note it. It speaks with 
a voice which is full of comfort and encouragement. It 
shows us that the American people still retain their reason ; 
and that however much they may become aroused and 
excited in discussion, they know how calmly to enter upon 
the day of decision, and to perform the great and respon- 
sible duties which it imposes. When we look at these 
things, and consider the dangers through which we 
have safely passed ; when we observe how promptly and 
how cordially the masses yield to the popular will as it has 
been expressed, although it may not conform to their pre- 
conceived theories ; we have reason to thank God that He 
has conducted the country unharmed through the perilous 
work of selecting administrators of the government amid 
all the exciting scenes of war. And it is not asking too 
much, now that the people have spoken with a wonderful 
and an unexpected degree of unanimity, that all without 
respect of persons or distinction of party, should not only 
throw no hindrances in the way of those who are charged 
with the difficult and the responsible duties of government, 
but should give to them their cordial support and hearty co- 
operation in the herculean work of subduing the Eebellion. 
Noble indeed would be such an expression of gratitude to 
God, for what He has done for us, on the part of all the 
people. The dictates of a pure patriotism demand nothing 
less than this. 

III. The jjrogress, under God, which has been made in car- 
rying on the war, is a fitting subject for thanl'fid achnowledg- 
meyit. Wc, of course, caA take no pleasure in the sacrifice 
of life, in the prodigious outlay of treasure, in the Avidow- 
hood and orj^hanage, and general sorrow and suffering 



13 

wlucli this has occasioned. These tlilii.ii^s will tcnijx'r our 
rejoicing to-day. But the}-- are the unavoidable concomi- 
tants of war. And such a war as that in which our country 
is engaged, means all of them, and that too in their most 
dreadful reality. 

The prosecution of the struggle has become a necessitv^ 
with the Government, wliich nothing less than the laying 
down of the arms of the insurgents can relieve. So long 
as the foe strikes, the Nation must defend itself. And the 
necessity being upon us, in view of all the circumstances of 
the case, there is much occasion for rejoicing that our na- 
tional cause has made progress. It has met with checks 
indeed. Eeverses have befallen our arms. But how could 
it well be otherwise ? And yet in the general view, many 
features of encouragement present themselves. There has 
been a sure and steady pressing onward. All that was 
undertaken has not been accomplished yet. But the mist 
is clearing away more and more. The harbingers of the 
coming day are multiplying. The signs of the exhaustion 
of the Kebellion are increasing. God grant that it may 
soon become powerless, and that we may soon be able to 
welcome the advent of smiling peace. 

We often fail, in looking at the condition of things, to 
take in the vast proportions of the work in which we are 
engaged. We grow restive, because all that we wish is not 
at once accomplished. The multiplying years of war, with 
its increasing burdens, sacrifice and cost, appal us. We 
wonder why our generals do not at once strike the fatal 
blow, and why our armies do not promptly rush in and 
seize the coveted prize. But we know little of real war — 
little of the .extent and formidable character of this war — 
if we suppose it can be ended by the mere utterance of a 
command, or the mere brandishing of a sword. We have 
to deal with a strong, proud, brave, defiant foe — a foe that 
has staked vast issues upon the contest — a foe that will 
hold out so long as there is a glimmering ray of hope — a 
foe that realizes the bitter humiliation of defeat, and that 



14 

shrinks with horror from the thought of submission. Hav- 
ing invited the contest, and cast their all into it, with the 
mistaken expectation, indeed, that they would have an easy 
road to victory, our enemies may well feel loath now to 
confess their error, and to yield up their cause as lost. Such 
foes cannot be overcome in a day. Only by prolonged, 
persistent, unyielding war, as things have now shaped 
themselves, can the Government be preserved, and the mis- 
guided people of the South themselves be saved from a 
success which would carry in it the elements of final disin- 
tegration and ruin to them. 

The war has been pronounced " a fiiilure." It has not 
indeed accomplished all that has been proposed ; in so far, 
it may perhaps, with some show of reason, be said to have 
failed. But it is a perversion of language to speak of it 
sweepingly and unqualifiedly as " a failure." A man does 
not make a failure when he realizes from a business ven- 
ture a few thousands less than he and his friends expected. 
A farmer does not speak of the failure of his crops, when, 
though he has gathered less than he looked for, he still has 
an abundant harvest. The issue of " failure " has been 
made, and the people have spoken upon it. By their ver- 
dict let us abide. If we look with unprejudiced minds at 
the facts in the case, and break away from the influence of 
party and passion, surely we can easily understand that 
progress — great progress — has been made in the direction 
of conquering rebellion and securing an honorable peace. 
Look at the position of things as it was in the beginning. 
Remember the times when the rebellion planted itself on 
lines which reached far to the North, and which stretched 
across the country from the front of Washington . to 
the State of Missouri; when nearly the whole sea-coast, 
with its harbors and defences, was in the possession of our 
foes ; and when they controlled the Mississippi river from 
a higli northern point down to the very Gulf. And how 
cliangcd all this is now. Whole States have been redeemed 
fr<.)m the grasp of the rebellion ; in all of the insurgent 



15 

ones, Avitliout exception,, tlie glorious Old Flag of the conn- 
try has been planted ; the great river of the West has been 
cleared of obstructions, and opened again to commerce ; 
here and there only, a point along the extended coast 
still remains in rebel hands ; our armies have pene- 
trated into the very heart of the enemy's country, and they 
have held it. This very day the victorious columns are 
pushing yet further and further onward ; and on many a 
field, now historic, victory has perched upon our banners. 
Is this not progress ? If it be not, tell us what is ! Has 
the war indeed been a failure? Let us have much of such 
failure ! And as more immediately concerning us now, 
because connected with the passing year, whose blessings 
we are here to recount — can we see nothing in events of 
more recent occurrence that points in the same direction ? 
In the great campaign from the Eapidan to the James — in 
that from Chattanooga to Atlanta and beyond — in that in 
the valley of the Shenandoah — and in that of Mobile har- 
bor — in these as the principal of the later campaigns in 
Avhich our forces have been engaged — can we see no pro- 
gress? Ah ! but perhaps you say, how have all these in- 
volved the slaughter of our troops, the Aveakening of our 
strength, the depletion of our treasury ! But have they 
been harmless to our foes ? Are there no signs of exhaus- 
tion there? Has there been no reeling, no staggering under 
these blows, on the other side? When we come to balance 
the account, does nothing appear to our credit? If the 
progress has not been all that we could have wished, let 
us have the manliness to acknowledge it so far as it goes ; 
and let us be devoutly thankful to God for whatever of it 
He has been pleased to give us. 

From mau}^ quarters, the evidence accumulates, that the 
rebellion has reached and passed the zenith of its power. 
It is evidently becoming more and more straitened. Its 
territory has been reduced more than one-half. Its material 
for soldiers is rapidly approaching exhaustion. Its cur- 
rency has become almost worthless. Its lack of many of 



16 

the necessaries for carrying on war is confessed. And the 
spirit of many of its original adherents is fast dying out, 
so that they would welcome the waving of the old Flag 
over them, as the symbol of protection and safety. From 
the Vice-President of the Confederacy, down, through 
(rovernor Brown, of Georgia, and Congressman Boyce, of 
South Carolina, to others of less prominent position, many 
a heart seems to be turning longingly towards the old home 
in the Union. Will not submission to the rightful authority, 
when things have come to such a pass as this, ere long be 
compelled ? Can the infatuated people of the South, much 
longer fail to repudiate the wicked leaders, who have con- 
ducted them to all their sorrows? Can a professed nation, 
so nearly exhausted, so closely blockaded, so persistently 
refused recognition abroad, and so relentlessly hemmed in 
on every side, hope to prevail against such a power as this 
Government wields? Does not the progress which has 
already been made, contain in it the prophecy and the 
promise of not far distant and complete success? Let us 
rejoice, then in the great things in this direction, which 
our Heavenly Father has done for us ; for there is much 
here to make us glad. 

IV. The change of sentiment ivhich, under Providence, has 
lieen (jradually going on in the country, on the subject of human 
Slavery, the generally acknowledged cause, or at least the occa- 
sion of the Rebellion, and the main-spring of it, is worthy of 
being thankfully noted here and noiu. There have been 
times, when many good men did not deem it expedient or 
judicious to utter much from the pulpit on this question. 
In view of Constitutional provisions bearing upon it, they 
<;hose to say but little or nothing about it, as it presented 
itself here in our country. Although it is strictly a great 
moral question, and as such should be open to unrestrained 
discussion, and its wrongs and evils exposed and condemned 
with unsi)aring faithl'ulness ; yet it has become so mixed 
up with political issues, that many liave kept aloof from it, 



17 

in order tliat they might escape the charge of haviuf/ 
political and partisan ])urposes in view, if they should 
approach it. But after all, if. politicians choose thus to 
involve a moral question, which is just as much a legiti- 
mate subject for the pulpit, as crime in any of its forms, 
should this be a valid reason why virtuous and good men 
ought to bridle their tongues wholly concerning it? A 
wrong is a wrong anywhere — wherever you find it. And 
it merits exposure and denunciation as such, by all good 
men, however much they may be charged on account of it, 
with unbecoming and unchristian " meddling in politics." 

But now, since the rebellion has thrown oft' the restraints 
of our National Constitution, and ignored the National 
compact, we need no longer be hindered by those provi- 
sions and guarantees of the great instrument, which have 
largely influenced the utterances of many good men in 
former days ; and the more so, since the Almighty — blind 
our eyes to it as we may — evidently seems to be making 
this His opportunity, to relieve the country of a great 
incubus which our wisest and ablest statesmen have been 
vainly endeavoring to remove, to solve the problem which 
through a long series of years has vexed and confounded 
them, and to take away from us that which has constituted 
our standing reproach among the enlightened and christian- 
ized nations of the earth. How wonderful the changes 
which have taken place in the popular mind, upon this 
subject ! How many people who stood aghast two years 
ago, at the thought of employing the negro as a soldier, 
and who shrunk amazed from the idea of an Emancipation 
Proclamation, have not only become reconciled to these 
things, but acquiesce in them as wise, and just, and proper 
measures, called for by " military necessity !'' The acts of 
the Administration in this connection, as well as in all 
others, were before the people for their judgment, in the 
recent election. All knew where our rulers stood, and 
what was their policy in conducting the war. Things were 
not done in a corner. Nothing was concealed. But with 



18 

wliat a remarkable endorsement have tbe measures met, 
which the war has called forth ! How diJtt'erent the judg- 
ment and voice of the ]^eo])le from what they were in the 
earlier stages of the war ! What progress has been made in 
popular sentiment, upon the great question which is so 
intimately interwoven in public affairs as they now stand ! 

I am only seeking to direct your attention to the more 
prominent facts as they have transpired, without question- 
ing whether or not they fall in with your views and prefer- 
ences. Maryland has just torn off the shackles from the 
limbs of her slaves, and, by one of the holiest acts in her 
history, consecrated her soil forever to Freedom. Missouri, 
if I mistake not, has legislated with the same end in view, 
though not so speedily to be realized. Large portions of 
other States, if I misinterpret not the signs of the times, are 
nearly ready to move in the same direction. And a year 
hence a Congress elect will assemble, if God permit, among 
whose anticipated acts is reckoned a change in our funda- 
mental law, such as will forever abolish slavery throughout 
the whole land. And even at the South itself, at this very 
time, the question of arming the slaves, which involves 
almost necessarily their subsequent emancipation, is being- 
agitated. There, from the nature of the case, the subject is 
invested wdth peculiar difiiculty and danger. The people 
see and feel it. But so urgent is the necessity which presses 
upon the Confederacy, to bring more soldiers into the field, 
that many eyes are turning towards the slaves as their only 
remaining helpers. So grave a matter has this become, 
that the President of the so-called Confederacy has felt 
himself constrained to give it a place in his recent ainiual 
message, and to propose such measures connected with it, 
as involves as much as the most zealous opponents of the 
institution of Slavery have ever sought — his own press 
being his interpreter. Says the Riclimond Examiner, of 
November 8th, on the proposition to employ forty thousand 
slaves as laborers, who are to be drilled and instructed, as 
a reserve force, but not yet armed: "to a proposition of 



19 

that sort, no one could have the least ol)jei'ti(jn, if lie (tin; 
President) had not concluded with an obscure jjussai,'*' 
which, if it means anything, means that the forty thousan<l 
slaves so employed, shall be set free at the end of the wai-, 
as a reward for their service. Here, while refusing to 
employ the slaves under arms, he adopts the fatal principle 
of the original proposition to its fullest extent, and puts 
forth an idea which, if admitted by the Soutliern people as 
a truth, renders their position on the matter of slavery 
utterly untenable. * ■''' * * The negro's freedom is to be 
given to him, as a reward for his service to the country : 
his freedom, therefore, is a boon — it is a better state — a 
natural good, of which our laws deprive him, and keep 
from him. Now, that is the whole theory of the abolitionist ; 
and we have the sorrow to think that if one portion of this 
Presidential message means anything, it means that." So 
that Jefferson Davis is pronounced by the " Michmon(f 
Exarainer,^^ to have adopted the whole theory of the aboli- 
tionist ! Who would have expected it ? Yerily, we have 
fallen upon strange, wonderful times ! Have we not here a 
new and striking illustration of the old, familiar adage : 
"Whom the gods would destroy, they first deprive of 
reason ?" Does it not really seem as though God, in the 
wise arrangements of his Providence, intends that the 
leaders of revolt and rebellion themselves are to become 
the real, practical abolitionists, and that they are to lend 
the most efficient helping-hand, in at last relieving the 
country of its most terrible curse ? In this great progress 
of sentiment on the Slavery question, the patriot and the 
philanthropist have reason to rejoice. It indeed seems to 
be the augury of better things coming. " The set time" 
seems to be drawing near, when the down-trodden African 
race is to be delivered from the galling yoke of bondage, 
and raised up to a higher sphere ; and when we can speak 
of this as a free land, and of ourselves as a free 'peoi^le, with- 
out inviting and deserving the derision of other nations. 
God speed the time 1 



20 

FinaJlij, all these thhu/s serve to encourage the liope, tJ/at zee 
shall ere long he rescued from the trials and sorrows of ivar, 
and shall he made glad in the return of Peace. We know not 
indeed what further chastisements our Heavenly Father 
may have in store for us. We know that we have not 
been visited more sharply than our sins deserve. And we 
know that we are continually approaching "the desired 
haven." We have occasion to rejoice to-day in accumu- 
lating evidence of a determined purpose, on the part of the 
people, God willing, to put down rebellion, and to save our 
beloved country from dismemberment and ruin. This is 
what the popular voice, uttered so loudly in the recent 
election, means. And, ere this, it has carried dismay to the 
hearts of many of our household foes, whilst the nations 
across the waters will easily interpret its meaning. The 
country is too dear to be surrendered to rebels. The only 
possible condition on which they, over and over again, have 
declared themselves willing to treat for peace, is the recog- 
nition of their separate and independent existence as a 
nation. Who will say that this should be acknowledged ? 
However much parties may have differed on other topics, 
which have been involved in the recent political contest, on 
the question of our National Unity, there has been a 
singular unanimity, One has vied with the other in pro- 
testations of devotion to the Union. The peace-at-any-price 
policy has received such a sweeping rebuke, that it will not 
have the hardihood to lift up its head soon again. An 
honorable peace, to come, now since our enemies will have 
it so, through war to. the bitter end — this, if we have read 
aright the signs of the times, is what the vast popular 
majority has proclaimed, in unraistakeable tones, shall be 
the purpose and the policy of the Government, in its future 
dealing with the rebellion. Whoever stands in the way of 
this, so long as our enemies maintain their present attitude, 
will only serve to hinder the consummation so devoutly 
wished by all, and aid in prolonging the bitter experiences 
of the war. 



21 

Let us then, Christians and countrymen, forgetful of 
party difterences, burying all our party signs and distinc- 
tions out of sight, and animated only by purposes of a pure 
and lofty patriotism, rally around the dear old Flag of our 
country, and stand by those who are lawfully and constitu- 
tionally placed over us, to guide the affairs of the Nation, 
Human they are ; errors and mistakes they have committed, 
and will commit again, because they are human, and, there- 
fore, fallible. Let them not be censoriously watched and 
petulantly criticised. Let due allowance be made for their 
human infirmity. Continually commending them to God, 
and imploring His guidance and help for them, let them 
have our hearty sympathy and co-operation in every honest 
and well-meant endeavor they put forth to save the country. 
And with God to help them and us, we may hope to 
emerge ere long from this long, dark night of national 
sorrow, and to rejoice in the day of peace, and happiness, 
and re-union again. 

O, blessed day ! When shall it come ? Our anxious eyes 
have looked through years already for its dawn. Our 
hearts still long for it, and ache within us because we see it 
not. But it is coming. It may be nearer than any of us 
suspect. It may be just ready to pour its flood of glory 
over us. God bring it soon ! In mercy, Lord, who hast 
done great things for us, whereof we are glad, do yet this 
for our sinful nation — that from the altars of thousands 
and millions of hearts, the incense of thanksgiving and 
praise may rise up to Thee for it, and that from thousands 
and millions of lips, songs of rejoicing, in one grand, 
glorious naticuial chorus, may be a grateful people's tribute 
to Thee, their Great Deliverer and King I 



160 






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